If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

The first thing I would say is contact Valve. They do licenses for internet cafes to run Steam and provide a library of a considerable number of games. Here's a link about information and how to sign up for it https://cafe.steampowered.com/index.php

Edit: There's also a full list of games that they provide here. I think it provides quite a nice cross between easy to get into indie/platformer titles and some of the more popular online games that would draw a larger number of people.

The first thing I would say is contact Valve. They do licenses for internet cafes to run Steam and provide a library of a considerable number of games. Here's a link about information and how to sign up for it https://cafe.steampowered.com/index.php

Edit: There's also a full list of games that they provide here. I think it provides quite a nice cross between easy to get into indie/platformer titles and some of the more popular online games that would draw a larger number of people.

Yes, it is a internet cafe centered for gaming. thanks for the advice and links, really appreciated.

Yeah, do a search for gaming pubs/lounges, and LAN parties. They'll usually have a list of their most popular games. The place I visit is called Strafe and can be found here: http://www.strafegaming.com/ , but they switched to more of a console focus lately. I also go to http://www.elitezonenc.com and they still have a lot of PC games that get updated regularly.

A nice, simple car racing game. Most people can relate to driving a car, the controls are easy to master and who doesn't njoy arsing around in a fast car?

"You go up to a man, and you say, "How are things going, Joe?" and he says, "Oh fine, fine — couldn't be better." And you look into his eyes, and you see things really couldn't be much worse. When you get right down to it, everybody's having a perfectly lousy time of it, and I mean everybody. And the hell of it is, nothing seems to help much." - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Check out some free FPS games. They will save you some money on licenses and many of them are quite good.

Urban Terror
Warsow
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory

Some more I can't remember.

Sauerbraten
Tremolous
Alien Swarm (needs Steam though)

Good additions for in-store gaming could be low-price high-quality indie games like Frozen Synapse (simultaneous-turn based tactical gaming; emphasis on strategical thinking and less on skill or quick reaction; easy to set-up multiplayer)

Of course this only works if you're attracting people that come for something other than Counterstrike, Modern Warfare or League of Legends.

If you want to focus on a stronger community-aspect for your store consider offering services like introducing people to steam, helping them out with gaming-related troubles etc.

Gaming cafe's usually act as hotspots for World of Warcraft addicts when there isn't any organized stuff going on (speaking from personal experience >,<). I'd download it (free) and whack it on.

Depending on where you've setup you might be able to rustle together enough people for some gaming nights. Theyyl traditionally want games like Counter Strike Source, Quake Arena, Call of Duty 4, Starcraft, generally quite well known and fairly inexpensive games to setup on a LAN.

I'd suggest things like Team Fortress 2 as it's pretty easy to get into and provides lots of fun even if you're rubbish at it, also TrackMania Nations Forever is a fun (and free) driving game that has some multi-player modes. Maybe Dogfighter (a cheap indie multi-player aerial shooter), Killing Floor, L4D2, Alien Swarm, and of course Portal 2.

Of course, you'll also want to have things like Starcraft 2, Counter-Strike, CoDBloPS, maybe Quake Live, but those are kind of obvious choices.

It's hard to say though, as it really depends on what type of customer you're trying to attract. Are you looking for people who are more 'casual' gamers, or just console gamers who don't have much PC experience? Either way, I'd suggest doing promotions to introduce people to certain games and kick-start the 'social' element (which I guess is one of the main draws of this kind of business).

EDIT: also Minecraft has extremely broad appeal, you could set-up a local server that only regulars/members could use, I'm sure that would keep people coming back.